N. Idaho Man Dies After Car Hits Train

TWIN LAKES, Idaho (AP) — Authorities in northern Idaho say a 53-year-old Post Falls died after his vehicle collided with a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train. The Kootenai County Sheriff's office says Albert P. Brunner's 1993 Mitsubishi 3000 GT hit the side of the train where the tracks cross Ramsey Road near the town Twin Lakes.

A passing motorist reported the collision about 12:45 a.m. Sunday after spotting the Mitsubishi's wreckage. Sheriff Ben Wolfinger says the Mitsubishi struck a crossing gate that was down and then hit a train car that was 17 cars from the front. Brunner died at the scene.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas says the train had four locomotives and 125 empty coal cars traveling east from Washington state to the Powder River Basin. He says the gates at the crossing were working properly.